Reconstruction of Rebecca Blank's article and conclude with Essay

Reconstruction of Rebecca Blank's article and conclude with reflection - Essay Example Economically markets are not effective, and, therefore, the government comes in to do what the market cannot do, but the society demands. She supports her argument by stating that governments are established to determine and enforce rules in the economy. She uses the standard economic theory that states that markets need more than rules to support her case. These are some of the cases that cannot function with rules alone: market failure due to incomplete information, the presence of monopoly power, presence of externalities and presence of public goods. She states that market failures exist, and that government can correct it but also a line must be drawn between the useful and wasteful government activities to reduce the frequency of the market failure (Rod). From the political point of view, the government redistributes resources from those with more to those with less by taxation. It limits some activities in the market to promote equality and justice. It also regulates the use of public goods by investing in externalities, for example, public schools. In the Christian perspective, Rebecca argues that the bible provides guidelines, but humans have to use their minds and heart when faced with ethical and behavioral questions. The bible sets standards for the humans and the government to limit their behavior regulates them and redistributes resources. She claims that the bible advocates for value and dignity for humans. Humans should respect each other and see each other as their neighbor (Rod). A neighbor in the bible does not mean the immediate person but everyone. A person should not be discriminated because of their culture, religion, color or gender. It advocates for people to be able to differentiate between good and bad and also show concern for the poor. Therefore, they should be concerned with the injustice in the market, value and support the government in the redistribution to address injustice and inequality,

The Vital Capacity Test In Football

The Vital Capacity Test In Football Football has become a sport that interest by all population in this world. To play or become a good football player, the person must master many skills and have a healthy physical and mental. Football players also must combine speed, strength, agility, power, and endurance as basic qualities before the individual skills inherent to the playing of soccer can be utilized and depend on the position such as defense, strikers, midfielder and goal keeper. The understanding of the physical and the mental demands of the sport will enable a more scientific approach to the training of soccer players by (Bell and Rhodes 1975; Caru et. al. 1970; Fardy 1969). Football is one of the sports that need high intensity of workload or physical activity, for example the combination of walk and repeated sprints need sufficient recovery between activity. Stated by (Nicks et. al. 2006) and Romer et.al. So the player must have strong muscles, high muscular endurance, have strong core and have high level of aerobic capacity because the football game are played for 90 minutes. So the training must contain high aerobic training to improve cardiovascular and pulmonary functions so the athlete can cope with the sport. Physiological assessment of athletes can provide an opportunity to examine or test the adaptation to specific types of exercises and training. These adaptations can be valuable to the clinician, coaches and athletes themselves. For example, lab test that can be proceed to examine the adaptation to specific types of exercises and training. To test the adaptation to the lung we can use pulmonary functions test to examine the effectiveness of lung muscles functioning, to check the vital capacity and to estimate the lung volumes. The function of the lung is to deliver O2 to gas exchanged surface and exhaust CO2 to atmosphere. To achieve this with brain functioning normally, breath begins with contraction of inspiratory muscle enlarging the thorax, lowering intrathoracic and pleural pressures, enlarging the alveoli and airways, expanding the alveolar gas so reducing its pressure below atmospheric. Air at atmospheric pressure must flow into the thorax where it is conducted to, and diffuses, out into the alveoli. The carriage of air through the airways depends on the patency of the tube as well as on the consistency of the lung and the power of the respiratory muscles. At any one moment approximately 100ml of desaturated blood, with a strong affinity for O2, is spread over an area of 70 square meters( area of pulmonary capillary bed ) separated from air by a membrane 0.2 micron thick. Oxygen from alveolar air diffuses rapidly across the alveolar capillary membrane and is finally chemically combined with hemoglob in molecules within the circulating red blood cells (RBC), CO2 diffuses into opposite direction and is eliminated in expired gas. The Vital capacity test is one of the oldest and most common respiratory tests. The measurement of vital capacity (VC) simply requires that an individual blow as large a breath of air as possible into a spirometer. Thus, the person expels three of the four components of the total lung volume when performing the vital test. There are inspiratory reserve volume (IRV), tidal volume (TV) and expiratory reserve volume (ERV). It provides an indirect indication of the size of the lung, although it is not a complete measure of the entire lung size because it does not account for residual volume. In general facts, vital capacity relate to three uncontrolled characteristics which are age, stature and gender. Lung function measurements also may be made for several reasons. They are useful in describing the lung for diagnostic purpose and subsequently in monitoring change. Accuracy and consistency are therefore very important, and a convention exists for the procedure of measurement and expression of result. In general, a measurement will only be accepted after multiple attempts have been scrutinized and expressed under standard conditions. These are usually body temperature and atmospheric pressure. To guarantee accuracy, laboratory practice should include regular physical and biological calibration of the equipment. Standard for good laboratory conduct have been described greatly by British Thoracic Society or association of respiratory technologist and physiologist 1997. In health there are several factors which influence the magnitude of the lung function. These include height, sex, age, and to a lesser degree weight and ethnic origin (Cotes1979, Anthonisen1986). As a result, assessment of normalcy can only be compared with reference values. The better can be obtained from the study of larger numbers of normal people from the relevant population (European community for Coal and Steel 1983). Once obtained, results can be expressed as percentage predicted or, more correctly, by comparison with the 95% confidence interval for the valves. Problem statement. It is interesting to know whether there are any different of lung volumes and lung capacities base on the different position in the football team such as striker position and defenses position. In football team, the defenders position tasks are different with the striker position task, for example the defensive position, the job of the centre backs or  central defenders  is to stop opposing players, particularly the strikers, from getting the opportunity to score, and to clear the ball from their own penalty area. So usually the defense has big physical to stop the striker, but different with the striker position, usually the strikers position players have not too big physical, because these positions are for the fast person to score the goal. This study of pulmonary function of the Uitm football players base on position, have taken students group of both striker position and defense position of aged between 19-25 years and focused on essential parameters including, FVC and has used Spirometer. The spirometer device used to assess these parameters. This study mainly concentrates on lung parameters including Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and how far it varies base on the position such as striker and defense. The FVC also use to assess the lung function of Uitm soccer players. Operational Terms 1.2.1 Exhalation is act or an instance of exhaling air. From journal sources Masaoka Y, Satoh H, Akai L, Homma I. (2010) 1.2.2 Inhalation is the drawing of air or other substances into the lung. From internet sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki 1.2.3 Total lung capacity are refers to the total amount of air in the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible. From internet sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki 1.2.4 Ventilation is a cyclic process of inspiration and expiration whereby optimal levels of Oxygen and cabondioxide are maintained in the alveoli and arterial blood. 1.2.5 Tidal Volume (VT) is defined as the amount of air that is inspired and expired during normal resting ventilation. 1.2.6 Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) is the maneuvers in which the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled following a inspiratory effort. 1.2.7 Maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) can be defined as the maximum volume of air that can be breathed by a person in one minute. From internet sources http://www.answer.com/topic/maximum-breathing-technique Objectives In this study, there are some purposes or objective that can be seen. They are; To measure the level of fitness of Uitm football players by using force vital capacity y test. To determine whether there is a different in pulmonary functions base on position in football team such as defense and striker. 1.4 Hypothesis H °-There is no significant different on pulmonary functions in football position such as striker and defense H ª-There is significant different on pulmonary functions in football position such as striker and defense 1.5 Significant of the study The significant of this study is mainly to measure and compare the lung volumes and capacities among the Uitm football player base on their position. Does the football position such as striker position and defenses position have differences effects on the lung volumes and capacities? The study is important because it can help certain peoples such as coach, physiotherapy and athletes especially in any kinds of sports to improve pulmonary functions. In addition, this study also can increase knowledge of coach and athletes, and show them how important is to have efficient and strong lung to improves their performances for their sport. 1.6 Delimitation The first delimitation is the number of any kinds of research subjects, which consists thirty (n=30) age range from 19-25 years old will take part in this study. The subjects are selected in the Uitm football team and physically active and all the participants must be healthy. The subjects are divided into two groups of defense and striker. The others delimitation is the subject gender and age. The test will be conduct in Physiology Lab. Limitation In this study, the participants involved may have some experience in vital capacity test. The participants that will be selects in this study will be participating in the lab test by using spirometer. The participation is important in this study because it can affect the results and data if the participants do not cooperate and participate willingly. Besides that, the time constrains also can be one of the factors because the participants have their own schedules and will clash with the test schedules and can not attend the test. In addition, money can be a problem because, there is no sponsored in this study. The daily activities of the participants will not be controlled. Assumption In this study, it can be assumed that all the participants can do and completed the vital capacity test. Thus, I also believe and make sure that all the participants will understand and follow all the instruction given by the technician. The researchers also predict that all the participants are physically active and healthy. The researcher assumed that the test in this study instrumentation was appropriate for the target population. I also predict that all the participants fully understood the types of test and method and how to perform it correctly.

Eleanor Roosevelt Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although she won much respect as the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt gained a lot of her international esteem as a civil rights activist long before that. Eleanor’s interest in politics did not begin when her husband began his career in politics. Once he was named to the Democratic ticket, as Vice President Eleanor became interested in politics. While Franklin was becoming governor of New York she was campaigning for him unknowing that she was advancing her political career as well. Once Eleanor became first lady it was already done she had made a name for herself politically.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eleanor’s background in politics goes back to her Uncle Teddy who was once the President of the U.S. Eleanor married a young amiable Harvard student by the name of Franklin Roosevelt. But soon Franklin became bored with Business Law and Eleanor pushed him to go into politics. Aided by a Democratic landslide and his mom’s money he won State Senator from the Hyde Park District. But Eleanor hated Albany and was soon very happy to leave. Franklin liked his newfound success in politics and his career prospered swiftly. He soon became an early backer of Woodrow Wilson as he ran for president, for his efforts he was awarded the job of Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the same job that propelled Eleanor’s Uncle Teddy to presidency. Eleanor liked Washington about as much as she liked Albany and spent little time there.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the years after that Franklin contacted polio and it was now up to Eleanor to keep his name before the public. Aided by Louis Howe she went on a mission to salvage her husband’s career. Louis went to meetings that she spoke at and though it took much criticism he managed to get rid of her nervous giggle. Soon Eleanor gained confidence and accepted offers to write in magazines and appear on radio talk shows. She had joined many groups including the Women’s Trade Union League and was also the chair of the Finance Committee of the Women’s Division of the Democratic State Committee. She was fast becoming a prominent public figure, much to her amazement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1928 at the Democratic National Convention Governor Al Smith asked Eleanor to run the entire national Women’s activities in his national campaign for president. Smith soon requested more as he asked Fra... .... (UDHR50)†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clearly Eleanor Roosevelt had a well-known political career without the fame her husband gained. When her husband started out in politics she disliked it but the more she was exposed she soon realized her role was to be useful and politics was the key to this. Her husband Franklin saw her as a great asset to his career and she also made a name for herself that lived on after he died. Works Cited â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt†, Eleanor Roosevelt Letter, March, 1996, National   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Archives and Records Administration, 21 November 2000,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Eleanor on Human Rights†, Eleanor Roosevelt Biography, August, 05 1998,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  National Coordinating Committee for UDHR50, 18 November 2000,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roosevelt, Eleanor, This I Remember, ed., New York, Harper, 1949. Weinstein, Allen, and Frank Otto Gattell, Freedom and Crisis:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An American History, 3rd ed., New York, Random, 1981.

Hopes and Dreams

Humans are born with the ability to dream and hope for something better. It is what we do afterwards that determines the outcome. A dream without action is just fantasy. The action is the means to achieve those hopes and dreams. For some people, the belief in our dreams and hopes gets lost through the years. So how do we get back on track and accomplish at least a few of those dreams? The first step is to realize that our dreams are still within reach. It starts with a clear understanding of the difference between what is achievable and what is not.The pathway that leads to our success is filled with small goals that, once accomplished, build our confidence to complete the next one. We possess the ability to establish achievable goals as steppingstones to reach what we hope for. A dream and a goal are two different terms that help in our task. The dream is the final destination and the goal is the path leading to it. One dream can have many goals or directions and strategies that hel p us accomplish it. Each goal is a small step toward the finalization of the dream. We all have dreams. Some are for tomorrow, some are for next week, and some are for years from now.It is within our ability to realize all of them by listening to the heart and completing all the necessary steps. Reality today was a dream or hope sometime in the past. Keep a journal of those things you hope for. Write down the steps or goals needed along to way to achieve each one. Then, every week or every month, review each one to assure that you stay on the correct path to accomplishment. Each review period allows you to make minor adjustments in the goals as life events dictate. We sometimes grow up with preconceived notions that many of these dreams are not considered worthy of any effort to realize them.If a dream is conceived but never believed, it is considered merely a fantasy. Often our lives are restricted to these fleeting fantasies because we don’t have the courage to treat them a s achievable dreams. Change the thought processes in your head so that you are not restricted by perceived impossibilities. Focus instead on the dream and its goals. Give fantasies the chance to turn into a dream by making them an important part of your life. Set the goals needed to fulfill the dream. Dreams are then given attention and can be fully manifested by setting goals.Maintain your focus on the dream instead of the short-term goals to enable fulfillment and satisfaction. While achieving goals offers a sense of satisfaction, this doesn’t provide ongoing motivation. The real power of each goal comes from its connection to the appropriate dream. And, yes, you can have many dreams that are in process all the time. Each of the short-term goals will lead to your objective. Setting smaller, more attainable goals will develop a sense of accomplishment that will ultimately keep you focused on the dream itself. The acronym SMART helps in setting the goals.Simple, Measurable, A chievable, Realistic, Timely. Dreams and hopes live in the heart. They are uniquely you and have the potential to result in who you are gifted to become. Without taking steps to realize those dreams, they are useless. Those people who dream and then set goals to achieve them will experience joy and satisfaction in their lives and a sense of peace in their twilight years. Truly successful people have taken their dreams out of the fantasy and converted them into eventual reality. They have done this by setting realistic goals and constantly reviewing the process to stay on track.

Memoirs of a Geisha

I. Title: Memoirs of a Geisha (1997) II. Author: Arthur Golden (1957- ) III. Setting: a. Where: Gion, Kyoto, Japan b. When: Early 1900’s (1930’s, World War II) IV. Character and Characterization: c. Principal Characters i. Sayuri Nitta (Chiyo Sakamoto) Sayuri is the main character of the book. As a child, she always thought well of others. She has determination and does not give up easily. Her gray eyes are what make her stand out the most. ii. Mameha Mameha was a well-known geisha in Gion. She was Sayuri’s older sister (not by blood) and mentor. She taught Sayuri what she needed to do for her to become a successful geisha.She is very determined and would do anything to achieve her goal. iii. Hatsumomo Hatsumomo was a geisha of the Nitta Okiya, the same okiya that Sayuri came from. She boasts of herself and thinks that no one is better than her. She despised Sayuri and saw her as competition, which led to her numerous attempts to destroy Sayuri’s life. iv. Chairman The Chairman was the reason why Sayuri had a purpose to live, which was the result of his act of kindness to Sayuri when she was a child. He is a person who thinks of other’s feelings. As a geisha, Sayuri wanted nothing more than for the Chairman to take notice of her. . Nobu Nobu was the Chairman’s right-hand man, the Chairman owed him a lot. He is patient and kind. Nobu’s appearance is peculiar because of his skin which was damaged by a bomb. He fancies Sayuri and waited most of his life to become Sayuri’s danna. d. Secondary Characters i. Pumpkin Pumpkin was Sayuri’s friend when they were young. Their friendship was destroyed by Hatsumomo, who was Pumpkin’s older sister. She was sweet and very helpful at first, but was influenced by Hatsumomo. Pumpkin also became a geisha from the Nitta Okiya, but she was not as famous as Sayuri. ii. AuntieAuntie was the first person to show kindness to Sayuri when she arrived at the Nitta Okiya . She wanted Sayuri to become successful and to not end up like her. When Sayuri became a geisha, she continuously helped her through what she needed to do. iii. Mr. Tanaka Sayuri, as a child, idolized Mr. Tanaka and thought that no other man is higher than him. Mr. Tanaka was the person who offered Sayuri’s father to sell Sayuri and her sister Setsu. He was the reason why Sayuri ended up in Gion. iv. Mother Mother was the sister of Auntie and the owner of the Nitta Okiya. She was very fond of money and would do anything to become richer.She later adopted Sayuri as her daughter and as the successor of the Nitta Okiya. v. Dr. Crab Dr. Crab was one of the men who were attracted to Sayuri when she became a geisha. Dr. Crab is a kind of person who would let nothing to stand in his way. He is known for spending a lot of money in the pursuit of mizuage. V. Subject Matter: a historical fiction about the life of a geisha in Japan before World War II VI. Thesis/Main Idea: The story re volves around a girl whose life was transformed from rags to riches when her father sold her until she became a well-known geisha in Kyoto.VII. The Part I Like The Best. Why? I was thrilled the most when I was reading the part where the Chairman met Sayuri in the Ichiriki Teahouse after the incident with the Minister on the island of Amami. I was so consumed by the book since I badly wanted to know what the Chairman would say to Sayuri. Shock and disbelief came over me when the Chairman admitted that he knew Sayuri was the child he saw crying near the Shirakawa Stream. VIII. The Part I Like The Least. Why? I did not like the part where the war was going on and Gion closed down.I felt as if the part was not that significant to the main topic of the story and that the story would just have the same effect to the readers without it. As a reader, I thought that this was the dullest part of the story. IX. Vocabulary Improvement: 1. Geisha-(n. ) a Japanese women educated to accompany men as a hostess, performing different skills such as dancing and playing instruments * Most Americans confuse geishas as prostitutes because of the pretend geishas who called themselves geisha girls and sold their bodies to American soldiers in Japan during the World War II. . Okiya-(n. ) the lodging house in which a geisha lives until she has paid all her debts from the okiya for sending her to school * Mameha was a geisha who was allowed to live in her own house since she was able to pay off all her debts from the okiya she was from. 3. Danna-(n. ) a geisha’s patron, a wealthy man who supports the geisha’s needs in exchange for spending time with him privately * Nobu spent almost his entire life waiting to become Sayuri’s danna which unforntunately never happened. 4. Shamisen-(n. a three-string musical instrument that is played using a plectrum * Many geishas, if not all, were taught how to play the Japanese instrument called shamisen, which they used in performa nces. 5. Mizuage-(n. ) the coming of age ceremony of an apprentice geisha, usually associated with the geisha’s loss of virginity; a large sum of money is to be paid to the geisha in return for her mizuage * According to Mineko Iwasaki, the geisha Arthur Golden interviewed for his book, a geisha’s mizuage was never won by means of bidding.X. Brief Summary: Chiyo Sakamoto, a girl from a little fishing village called Yoroido, was 9 years old when her father sold her and her sister Satsu to a man named Mr. Tanaka. They were brought to Kyoto where Chiyo and her sister were separated; Chiyo stayed in Gion in the Nitta Okiya as a maid, whereas her sister was brought to Miyagawa-cho where she worked as a prostitute. Chiyo started going to school to become a geisha, but when she learned about her sister’s location, she went to look for her.When they met, they decided that they would runaway a few days after, Chiyo tried to runaway but failed, which caused her her school ing priviledges. As Chiyo continued to live as a maid, knowing that she won’t see her sister again, she felt as if she has no purpose in life; then he met the Chairman who treated her kindly, which gave her hope for a better future. After this incident, she wanted to become a geisha hoping that she would please the Chairman someday.Mameha, a well-known geisha in the Gion district, became her mentor and trained her to become a successful geisha; she then changed her name to Sayuri Nitta, of the Nitta Okiya. Though she had numerous admirers, she wanted no one but the Chairman to take notice of her; she strived hard to for this and in the end, she eventually learned that the Chairman acknowledged her way back then from the very first time they met. Memoirs of a Geisha â€Å"Memoirs of a Geisha† is a book written by Arthur Golden. The plot takes place in Japan and tells us the story of a young girl; a fisherman’s daughter and her journey through life to become a famous Geisha, a Japanese female entertainer. The book describes the struggles of a young girl, Chiyo, who is abandoned; sold by her father. The story is told in flashback format with reference to the protagonist's present and past. The focal point of the story is constantly on the internal narrator, Chiyo, who later changes her name to Sayuri when she becomes a geisha. Sayuri, who is our protagonist, is eight years old and lives in the small fishing village of Yorido at the beginning of the story. She lived happily with her family until one day her mother becomes sick. Her father who is a fisherman can't afford the medical treatment of her mother. Seeing no other way out, he sells Sayuri and her clumsy older sister Satsu to Mr. Tanaka; the owner of the seafood company which all the villagers work for. Mr. Tanaka brings the girls to the cultural city of Gion. Satsu who is the less beautiful of the two is sold to a brothel while Sayuri is sold to the Nitta Okiya, a geisha house. At the Nitta Okiya she meets a number of different people. There is the owner of the Okiya who is referred to as â€Å"Mother†, a bull-dog looking woman, whose main concern is money as described by Sayuri. The main â€Å"Villain† of the story is Hatsumomo , a famous and successful geisha who lives in the same Okiya as Sayuri. Hatsumomo is the main resource of the Nitta Okiya since all the money she earns goes to support it. From the day Sayuri arrives at the Okiya, Hatsumomo dislikes her, she tries to make Sayuri's life as hard as possible. At first it is hard to understand why she has that kind of behaviour towards Sayuri but as the story continues we understand that it is all about jealousy. Hatsumomo can't stand that Sayuri is beautiful and sees that in a few years she might become a successful geisha unless she gets rid of her. Hatsumomo clearly states that she hates Sayuri and doesn't want her in the Okiya: â€Å"I shall destroy you† (pg. 78)1 Sayuri comes to the Okiya with a debt which she has to pay off. The debt just keeps getting bigger because she has to take geisha ‘lessons. Sayuri is taken out from geisha practice,e after several accidents, and made a slave at the Okiya. She has no hopes for her future when Mameha, a character who becomes very important to the story, comes to convince Mother to let Sayuri continue her geisha practice. She helps Sayuri throughout her career by introducing her to many famous and rich people who can invite her to their parties and by taking her to all important places where the big parties are held. Mameha gives her personal lessons and gives her all help she can and if it weren't for Mameha, Sayuri would never have become a geisha. Throughout the story we see how Sayuri's character changes drastically, from a simple and a naive country girl to a slave with no future to a graceful famous geisha and when the story turns again, a seamstress trying to survive the second World War. Although the story mostly concentrates on Sayuri and we get to know the secrets of a geisha's life, there's a lot more that can be learnt from the story. It tells us about the life in Japan before, during and after the Second World War. The story which is set in Japan wouldn't have existed if we were to set it elsewhere. Geishas are something unique to only Japan and can't be found in any other culture around the world. It tells us about the time before the war when everything was good. Sayuri mentions the war a couple of times, in the beginning but she talks about it as if it were something that was far off and didn't concern her. Then slowly she starts realising that the war is affecting them more and more when they start using ration books. Still, the reality of the war isn't realised fully by either Sayuri or the reader until it hits you in the face when suddenly the heads of different Okiyas are selling fancy kimonos and jewels at the black market for their survival. The book mentions real-life incidents such as the bombing of Tokyo and other big cities. It tells us about the problems that the people of Japan were faced with and how even graceful geishas are forced to become normal seamstresses, making parachutes for the war. The theme of the book in my opinion is first of all, the life of a geisha since it tells us about how geishas lived and what they had to go through. Arthur Golden takes us into an unknown world and reveals the secrets of what seems to us a glamorous life. The book shows that the life of a geisha is far from glamorous. Both in sense of the social problems they have to face such as jealousy from other geisha and the struggle to make a good reputation for themselves in order to survive and also personal problems such as those older geishas, whose skin has rotted and become yellow because of the paints they used, had to face. Another theme of the book may also be; destiny. Sayuri's destiny was to become a geisha no matter what came in her way, no matter how impossible it seemed at times, she finally succeeded in becoming a geisha and not just that, she even became a very successful and famous geisha of her time. When the book starts and we see the village of Yoroido through the eyes of a young innocent girl, you wonder ‘what does this little girl living in a small fishing village have to do with a graceful and glamorous geisha? It's almost as you wonder whether the title of the book is wrong. As the story develops, we see how Sayuri ends up in the cultural city of Gion, but then suddenly when the story turns again and Sayuri is made a servant at the Okiya you start wondering if the story will instead start focusing on Hatsumomo. The book is very slow and boring in the beginning, several times I thought of just putting it down but just then the story takes a new turn. It really tells about a life I knew nothing about before and got really interesting the further I got into the book. The author has tied in historical events into an interesting story reflecting not only the lives of geishas but also the lives of ordinary people of that time. I found the book very interesting and different but a bit slow. Since it is semi-reality based I would recommend it to people both my age but also older people. The story catches your interest whether you are young or old. I would give the book 3 out of 5 points.